In a message dated 10/27/07 10:47:30 AM,
kvnsmith@thrillingdetective.com writes:
> On the other hand, I'm pleased to report that GONE,
BABY, GONE is
> pretty good stuff.
>
> I've had my fun over the years poking fun at the
source, a sterling
> example of hard-boiled bloat I simply found LONG,
BABY, LONG. But
> first time director Ben Affleck cut out plenty of
narrative fat from
> Lehane's book, and has delivered one of the best
made-for-adults P.I.
> flicks in a long, long time; a lean, mean
directorial debut that I
> don't think anyone saw coming.
>
> His kid brother Casey, in the lead role as P.I.
Patrick Kenzie, looks
> about twelve, but he pulls it off with surprising
effectiveness. The
> showdown in the bar with the locals is a classic --
the sorta scene
> that in most flicks usually ends up in an excess of
violence and
> stuntmen working overtime and scenery smashing gets
turned on its
> head; this is hard-boiled reduced to its essence.
Not the willingness
> to loudly go at it, but to quietly stand up to the
threat of it.
>
> Both Bubba and Angie's characters have also been
stripped down to
> their essence -- thank god -- and the stories moves
quickly and stays
> focussed on the hunt for a missing little girl,
culminating in a
> satisfyingly noirish ending that recalls CHINATOWN.
Favourably.
>
> And the feel for Boston is dead-on, more THE
DEPARTED than SPENSER
> FOR HIRE, thankfully. The language, the attitude,
the claustrophobic
> vibe of guilt and grit and working class dreams that
get broken
> before they even start -- it all works. I'm
not sure if rookie
> director Affleck can ever pull this off again --
being a Boston boy
> himself no doubt helped immeasurably -- but this is
a good one. Not
> just adequate, or "too too bad," but arguably
one of the best P.I.
> films ever made, and certainly the best in far too
long.
>
> I liked it just as much. the film addresses Kenzie's
youthful appearance
head on and is in fact a contributing factor to the conflict
in the bar you mention. Kenzie's reaction to the situation is
realistic and appropriate
John Lau
**************************************
See what's new at http://www.aol.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 27 Oct 2007 EDT